CATEGORY: Fiji

Spooky Spookfish Has Mirror Eyes

The aptly named “spookfish” is pretty darn spooky! The species has been known for 120 years, but no live specimen has ever been captured. That is until last year when this little guy was caught off Tonga, and island south east of Fiji, by German scientists. The two black spots you see are actually a pair fo mirrors that focus the light below into it’s and is the first species known to have such biology. The spookfish uses these mirrors to see below itself, mostly for the flashes of bioluminescent species and possible predators.

“In nearly 500 million years of vertebrate evolution, and many thousands of vertebrate species living and dead, this is the only one known to have solved the fundamental optical problem faced by all eyes – how to make an image – using a mirror,”

BBC News

1 Comment
November 16, 2010 by Jonathon Marshall

Filed Under: Fiji, Incredible, News, Oddities, Saltwater, Saltwater Species
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Fugu Fail

In the past we’ve discussed catching and eating Fugu with Adam Guy, but these would be the first photos we’ve seen of a fish getting the wrong portion of Fugu.

Looks like this Red Snapper bit off more than it could chew! My question is what do you think happened to the animals that ate the snappers flesh, do they get poisoned too?

The photo was taken in Fiji by Jack Hynes, I found this photo and more on his Flickr page.

3 Comments
December 3, 2008 by Jonathon Marshall

Filed Under: Blowfish, Fiji, Fishing
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